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Case Report
Giant cell arteritis in silence: A case report and literature review
1 University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2 Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Address correspondence to:
Ahmed Shah
Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada
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Article ID: 100047Z11KC2020
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Cui K, Shah A, Dhillon S, Lau A, Naqvi A, Alowami S. Giant cell arteritis in silence: A case report and literature review. J Case Rep Images Pathol 2020;6:100047Z11KC2020.ABSTRACT
Introduction: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a type of large vessel vasculitis of unknown etiology, and it typically manifests with cranial or constitutional symptoms.
Case Report: We report a case of asymptomatic GCA identified incidentally on an excisional biopsy for scalp squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), whose temporal artery biopsy performed subsequently showed transmural lymphocytic and granulomatous infiltrate with giant cells. To our best knowledge, this is the only case ever reported on incidental GCA in the setting of cutaneous SCC.
Conclusion: Our case highlights the challenges in GCA diagnosis when the lack of clinical symptoms conflicts with the pathology findings. Confirmatory tests including ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and temporal artery biopsy, investigations for extra-cranial manifestations of the GCA, along with regular surveillance are warranted for diagnostic clarification and treatment guidance.
Keywords: Giant cell arteritis, Hypertrophic actinic keratosis, Squamous cell carcinoma, Temporal artery biopsy
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Author Contributions
Kangping Cui - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Ahmed Shah - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Sandeep Dhillon - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Arthur Lau - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Asghar Naqvi - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Salem Alowami - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementThis case does not use any specific patient identifiers, and the pictures are of microscopic histology and immunohistochemistry that cannot be used for patient identification purposes. In the department of pathology, we do not directly interact with patients, but all efforts have been made in great detail to anonymize the case as much as possible.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2020 Kangping Cui et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
